I don’t know what kind of space your kitchen has, but I am not a fan of the oven in a 36” range. It’s too cavernous fron my viewpoint and seems wasteful of space and energy to heat it. Have you seen the 36” ranges in person?

Can you consider a 36” cooktop or rangetop with 30” wall ovens? That way you get the nice wider 36” cooktop, with 30” ovens. Having two ovens is quite nice as well, when you want to cook or heat things that need different temperatures. You can’t do that with a 36” oven.

36" rangetop plus 30" wall oven(s) is the best of everything. :)

Very interesting point about the rangetop/wall oven choice. I had that in my old house and liked it. There’s not a great place to put wall ovens in this kitchen, I was planning on the range and then a speed oven to use for overflow and to replace a microwave. I did not think there would be a big difference in heating up a 36” vs 30” oven.

I have seen them in person, and as I said, everything is so much bigger/nicer than I have ever had that it is all out of perspective in a way.

I believe BlueStar is significantly more money, and I am not a fan of the pro-style open burners. I understand that how they work, but I think I’d prefer sealed burners.

Induction is now 50%+ of the market on an upward trend. Miele, Bosch and Wolf are some options. And don't forget ventilation. Induction requires less.

I had a 48" Wolf Dual Fuel range in my previous house and had no issues with it, but I also had a Miele CSO XXL, which I used 95% of the time if I needed to use an oven.

When I built this past year, with kids out of the house, I went with a 36" Induction range and a Miele CSO XXL. Very happy with the Induction and love how easy it is to clean after my DH and visiting college kid decided to cook eggs for lunch the last few weeks! Still use my Miele CSO XXL for most of my oven needs. The 36" Wolf oven takes a while to heat up, like 20 minutes, compared to 8 minutes for the Miele CSO XXL. The 36" Wolf oven will be great for holidays and parties.

I have the 30" Thermador gas range. I've only had it a few months but I love it. The simmer burner is fantastic. The star burners heat very evenly. I love the blue knobs too.

I had a Bosch induction cooktop in my last house. I was always afraid of scratching the surface. I don;t know why, but it always seemed delicate to me.

The free Thermador Emereald dishwasher is great too. Love it.

What do you cook and how often? How often do you entertain? What capabilities would you like or do you wish you had now? Will any of these change in the future?

It's difficult to make a recommendation without knowing these.

"Bluestar. With a 42” 1200 CFM hood, and the code required make up air system. Which can cost as much as the range,"

Bit of unnecessary over-reaction here. With a lower cost range perhaps but not with a typical Bluestar, Wolf, etc.

And more importantly, the exhaust (and any MUA) needed should be based on the cooking, not just the range. Cooking on a low-end range can produce just as harmful effluent as cooking the same thing on a higher end range.

While I think the Bluestar open burners and cast iron top are the greatest, there have been so many reports on this forum of the Bluestar ranges’ ovens having a multitude of problems. These posts go back for years and there’s been no evidence of Bluestar making improvement in this area into the present day. I would highly recommend a Bluestar open burner rangetop with a separate wall oven from a different manufacturer.

If only a range will fit your kitchen, then out of what you mentioned I like Thermador and Monogram. The lack of response from Wolf over the blue interior chipping - now going on for years - is a no-go for me especially given the price. The others you mentioned - Dacor a disaster, stay away. Miele, well, ranges are not really their thing. They make them to have a full product line, but each manufacturer excels at what they know. Miele knows dishwashers, washing machines, and vacuums, and I’d buy those from Miele, but not their ranges or fridges.

"What do you cook and how often? How often do you entertain? What capabilities would you like or do you wish you had now? Will any of these change in the future?"

Good questions. Life has been crazy since before the pandemic, and my entertaining muscles have atrophied a bit. My current old range has 4 burners and sometimes it is hard to fit the pans I want to use on them. (I have a large All Clad stainless pan that crowds out anything on the adjacent burner).

I wish I had an adequate low simmer function and a power burner - those are standard in anything I am looking at I think. I have never had a grill-top so I'd have to learn how to use that, but a 6 burner top sounds helpful, if not for 6 actual burners but for the real estate to move things around.

I would love to do a wall oven with a speed oven over it, but I don't think we have adequate wall space for that. (Perhaps I should post my design in another thread!).

We don't entertain a lot, but I'd like to get back to that some day. I often use both my current ovens at once, to roast veggies in one and cook fish in the other, for example. I had no idea the Wolf 36" took 20 min to heat up.

Perhaps I can just do the 30" - it would still be quite a step up from my current situation

"there have been so many reports on this forum of the Bluestar ranges’ ovens having a multitude of problems."

Examples?

There have been a few problems w/ the BS Platinum but that's not a recommended product and I doubt these problems have been greater than other similar ranges.

The BS RNB which is the core of their line and the product that is desirable as a good cooking tool has been quite robust AFAIK.

OP, a few thoughts...

In the upper tier I think the BS RNB is the best option. We had Wolf for decades prior and the BS is def a step up and especially since Wolf downgraded to a more consumer grade product.

For mid tier (Monogram, Thermador, etc.) I'll let others chime in.

I would not recommend a grill inside - keep that outside. I do recommend a thermostatic griddle as it can serve multiple purposes (and helps to provide extra space on top between burners when needed).

A wall oven is great to have if you can fit it in. We do a lot of cooking, baking and entertaining so keep all of our ovens busy. Personally I'd recommend a steam oven over a fast bake.

Some things to think about: https://bamasotan.us/2020/12/the-kitchen/

Can’t beat induction for low simmer to high ourput range! we love our 36” miele cooktop. we brought our skillets to the store to see what fit - we needed to fit 2 12” and a 14” skillet at one time as well as a saucepan. miele was only layout that worked for us but i would test out 30” vs 36”.

Joan! I was just at the appliance store today. Our contractor can't work on our kitchen until spring of 2023, but advised us to order the appliances ASAP. I, too, have never had high end appliances and while they would be wonderful to have, I am feeling overwhelmed with the prices. I am so excited to have my kitchen redone. However, it will still not have all the features I would like to have which is why I'm considering the GE Cafe or Kitchen Aid appliances as well. My head is also spinning with reviews. I am the type of person that quality is important but I would be upset if the quality didn't match the price. I also want the appliances to be easily cleaned and cared for. (I was pulling out fridge drawers and looking under the ranges to see how they could be cleaned!!!)

We had quotes for all 1.) Subzero and 2.) Subzero with Thermador range and dishwisher (they are running a special). I will only have one teenager in the house when the kitchen is finished. How I would have loved the 48" when all 4 kids were all home!

Thank you to everyone who has responded because it's nice to see independent information you've all given me more things to consider!

"How I would have loved the 48" when all 4 kids were all home!"

We upgraded from a 36 to 48 after kids moved away and glad we did. The extra griddle space for sauces and stuff has been wonderful and made entertaining much easier and more fun. :-)

In my old house , I had the 48 “ 8 burner Wolf gas with the Kitchen Aid double oven. LOVED it. In my new home, I got the Blue Star 48 gas and the Kitchen Aid double again. I thought I would miss my Wolf, but the BS packs a punch!

You are all making me consider the 48"! It makes me hopeful to hear a bigger range is better - because children return with their children and need pancakes!

@Ital Mom. I assume you are like me, Italian & cook a lot. I have 5 kids and they all return home. Especially holidays & special occasions. So worth the bigger range.

@Ital Mom - I want to make sure you are aware of the hood exhaust needed for a 48” range. It needs to he 54” wide with the duct to the outside that is sized for that size of hood and cfms. It will be costly. It will also take up space that could have been for upper cabinets. Those two factors are often why people opt for a smaller range or a 36” cooktop/rangetop plus wall ovens.

@miranda33 - Thank you! Very helpful info and I now remember the contractor has to look into how to vent the exhaust which will determine the range size!

Hahahaha. So true. My grandparents would can in the basement kitchen! Such great memories

"the contractor has to look into how to vent the exhaust which will determine the range size!"

Or reverse that thinking and install the correct duct size so you can get your 48" range. Tell him the duct needs to be 8" or 10" diameter (you could try to get 10" to be on the safe side, but that may be harder to fit than 8" with joists, studs and such, depending on your home). Be prepared that he may tell you "6" diameter duct is fine". That's because it will be easier for him, but you'll have to live with it. You don't want smaller than 8" diameter and you don't want larger than 10" diameter.

Even if you end up with a 30" wide cooktop, I would still install an 8" diameter duct. If less than 8", the exhaust efficiency will be curtailed, and the noise will be increased.

You also want the shortest run of duct to the outside you can get.

"Even if you end up with a 30" wide cooktop, I would still install an 8" diameter duct."

Not necessarily. You have to match the duct diameter to the CFM's. Too large a duct can result in too low of air flow velocity which allows grease to drop out of the air stream - you don't want that.

"and need pancakes!"

Yes! :-)

But keep in mind that a griddle is useful for so much more than just pancakes! Why Good Griddles Are Important!

The one appliance store I have been talking to was able to tell me exactly how many of a particular item they have in stock. However, I am still nervous that when push comes to shove, the appliance may not be delivered in time; I have heard too many horror stories.

I think we are set on a 36". Part of me is gobsmacked at spending 2-3 x as much $ as on a very good 30" range, where 90% of the time it would get the job done. It feels very luxurious to be thinking about these more pricey models. WHich is another reason I want to pick the right one for us!

@joanc2 - You must be my long lost twin! You have eloquently expressed the whirl pool of thoughts constantly in my head!

"Part of me is gobsmacked at spending 2-3 x as much $ as on a very good 30" range,"

For someone with a house in a lower value neighborhood, won't be in their house very long or doesn't really enjoy cooking then it'd be a waste.

For someone in a neighborhood where it will be valuable at resale, who will be in their house for a while so will benefit from the longevity and reliability or who enjoys cooking it's well worth it.

@opaone You make great points about neighborhood, house value and how long a person will be in the house. For me, it really comes down to how soon George Clooney plans to show up at my house to wisk me away to live at his villa in Lake Como!!!

@opaone - you make very good points. Having grown up in a very modest house, with parents who ”made do” with whatever they needed, it is very hard for me to justify the price differential when the cheaper option will do 80% of what I need it to. Will the Wolf range be better and have more amenities? Sure, but I can certainly live with the standard range, and in fact HAVE lived wiht a standard range for most of my life.

Old habits/values die hard!

Thank you!

"Will the Wolf range be better and have more amenities?"

I would stay away from Wolf. In the upper price range I think the BS RNB is really the only good option. Wolf have downgraded but kept the higher price for the nameplate.

We could certainly have done without a lot of what we did in our kitchen but what we did makes cooking and entertaining much fun and pleasurable and there's a lot of value in that.

Blue Star rocks!

I am leery of the BS open burners. i know for cooks they are superior but I also know I like to shine up my appliances whenever I can. Not sure I want to deal with drip pans etc. Do they make a sealed burner?

Open burners is necessary for the control, temp and eveness across the bottom of the pan - sealed cannot do that. They do have sealed but then you'd have similar capability to Wolf, Thermador, etc.

Thermador's star burners are fantastic!

I've heard really great things about FiveStar, which also comes in at a more "reasonable" cost than Wolf if not all three brands you have listed. If I had to buy another range, it would definitely have open burners like FiveStar - the ones I have on the older Viking I have now are amazing for cleaning! (Viking makes only sealed burners now). Quick note - I like ajmadison.com as a first step while shopping for narrowing down the choices based on size, open vs sealed burners, price, etc. I've never ordered from there, though.

Sounds like you are looking for gas and are set on it. But shout out to Thermador Freedom 36" induction cooktop. Best investment I ever made. I have a 36" Wolf in my vacation home and there is no comparison. Cooking control, clean up and ventilation so much better with the induction. And cooktop senses size of pan and you can place it anywhere or even move it while cooking to another location without interuption of cooking.

@Wendy I realize I am an old fuddy-duddy and do not adjust to change well. I have read a few articles on the benefits and trends of induction and I realize I might have been very satisfied with it. But I think I am going to stick with dual fuel and gas for the cooktop.

Wendy - that’s great to hear! We’ve ordered one because I feel in love with all of the things you mentioned! But I’ve been a bit worried about the touchscreen. Have you found it easy to control? Or is it finicky?

Joanc2, totally get it. Lots of people love their gas. Good Luck!

Feline Fit, I’ve had it going on 8 years. No issues so far. Not sure how much it’s changed over the years but mine is pretty intuitive and easy to use. The first few times you cook on it you will get a feel for the power levels as they relate to what/how you are cooking. Ie… simmer, reheat, stir fry, boil, sear etc…

@opaone, well the more I read and visit, the more I learn. I am now considering the BlueStar. They are really a good looking range (not that that is my priority) and the price point is less than I realized.

I looked more closely at the open burner and cleaning situation, and I can see how it's an apples and oranges thing compared to a sealed burner.

Is there .learning curve on cooking on a BS? I am no professional chef, but I do like to cook and use different techniques.

PS the sales guy also showed us a Fulgor Milano, which I thought looked fabulous. But I cannot find enough objective info on them and reliability to feel comfortable getting one.